The best violists in the world are those who don’t have the desire to be a violinist, play like a violinist or make their viola sound like a violin. Thus, Pinchas Zuckerman often produces what amounts to a violist’s nightmare. It was surprising to see that Aleksey Koptev, violist for the St. Petersburg Quartet, chose two pieces originally written for violin (and quite violinistic) to make up the first half of his solo recital on Tuesday night in Kulas.
His performances of both Fritz Kreisler’s “Praeludium and Allegro” and Paganini’s “24th Caprice” contained within them elements of virtuosic violin playing and of soulful, thick, darker viola playing. Not only are both pieces of a violinistic nature, but also both sound quite similar, making for a redundant sounding program. But the pieces were well played and technically sound.
Koptev moved his fingers over the fingerboard quite well for playing these pieces on the viola instead of their native instrument.
In general, the success of the performance was based on how much Koptev embraced these pieces as viola pieces and not violin pieces. When he played too virtuosically and reached too high, he often lost his tone in an effort to be more brilliant. However, the pedal point section of the Allegro in the Fritz Kreisler piece had an especially interesting character when played on the viola.
The darker sonorities of the instrument brought out a sort of meditative quality, a wall of sound to the section that contrasted sharply with the way the section sounds of a violin. Michael Bukhman’s accompaniment was occasionally a little overbearing and slightly muddy, but ensemble problems were rarely his fault. Often Koptev was a little labored in his phrasing.
When Koptev returned after a short break to play Brahms “Sonata in F minor, Op. 120” with Conservatory faculty Angela Cheng, he seemed much more settled. The Brahms Sonata was not only better adjusted to the sound of the instrument (originally written for clarinet or viola), but was also better adjusted to Koptev’s playing. Right away his playing was more comfortable and his vibrato and tone much more expressive. His phrasing was also very delicate, not overstated like the first half often was. Cheng was sensitive and clear. The last movement had an especially energetic feel, and was a nice climactic ending to a worthwhile concert.